The Nifty

My friends & I have been coming here for Friday night karaoke for the last couple months. Very much a dive bar, but that's totally fine with me (especially the cheap drinks part). Karaoke is very laid back & judgement-free. Everyone's just there to hang out & have fun. Some of the regulars are very talented singers, but even I, with my terrible off key singing, feel completely comfortable (perhaps too comfortable) putting a song in the rotation. Majority of the songs people choose are 90s or 2000s alternative. Bartenders are lovely to talk to & great at remembering names. It's very small & gets crowded easily, had a couple instances of someone who's had a bit too much bumping into everything & everyone. Not a very comfortable spot to be when it's packed, but most of the time it's chill & low key.

The Nifty Bar is totally a dive. Decent selection of beers and booze. I like how they follow the classic bar rule that if your pour, pint or pitcher, blows the keg, they give you that portion and then they pour you the one you ordered. Whatever happened to that? No food there but cool for a nightcap or drive-by beer.

Great divey type bar with good beer and strong drinks. Do you need more? We came for the costume contest and had a blast playing super Jenga. Staff was attentive, the DJ was good and the night was fun.Definite return

The Nifty is a nice, little neighborhood bar on the east end of Benson. You'll find day drinking regulars draining pitches of domestic beer by themselves or chatting with each other outside under in the covered smoking patio which is heated in the winter.On the inside, the Nifty is floor-to-ceiling beige wood paneling, giving a warm alternative to the gray busy streets and used car lots that surround the building. The TVs show sports, unless it's 4:30, then it's Jeopardy time.The drinks at the Nifty range from bottom of the barrel spirits to streamlined favorites to IPAs and top shelf Scotch. The bartender told us they rarely sell any of the top shelf stuff, but they like to stock it anyway (the Nifty shares the same owner as swank Old Market spot Havana Garage).The Nifty can maybe hold 30 people comfortably, but could squeeze in 50 or more on a busy night. The Nifty also hosts the occasional special event and concert. Get there for nice change of pace from Benson's Maple Street drag.

In 2017, the word "nifty" rarely comes up organically nor is it oft deserved. But if you ask around Benson about bars where the locals go, where the Bohemians aren't  outnumbered by the Bro-hemians, the name Nifty Bar comes up inevitably. It's truly old school and was Benson before Benson was "good weird." During the coming apocalypse, Nifty Bar will survive with aplomb thanks to a devoted cadre of regulars. This is not a huge slick bar slathered in the comforting iconography of pre-packaged fun, but if one prefers that sort of establishment, one may readily find TGIFriday's, Applebees, Chili's, etc. nigh everywhere malls exist. The Nifty Bar's been at 4721 Northwest Radial Highway since the 1950s. It was remodeled a few years ago, but the bar is the original. It's adorned with small nameplates memorializing regulars who've moved on to drink by the right hand of the Lord. It's a beautiful, warm act of sentiment that makes one consider residency.The Nifty Bar is a tad off the beaten path largely due to its back-alley entrance. It's easy to miss that first time out. But once you figure out to come up North 48th and aim for that alley, you'll be right as rain and wet whistled in no time. There's plenty of parking on the outside and considerable good will behind the bar inspired by Toni the general manager. Toni seems genuinely interested in her customers, affectionate toward her regulars and sincerely interested in the new ones. Happy hour crowds are large enough to be sociable but navigable. The second wave of nighttime drinkers fill the place with good vibes. There is a large, enclosed beer garden for rainy days with a good cross breeze. Games include darts, giant Jenga and pool.  Shuffleboard is sadly gone along with the kitchen. The popcorn is free and frozen pizza is available. On tap is a bevy of local brews in addition to the usual domestic suspects Bud, Bud Light, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Busch Light. Craft beers include Brickway Brewery's Vanilla Stout, Raspberry Hefeweizen and Pils, Infusion Brewery's South Pacific Pineapple IPA, Blonde and Joel Porter, Deschutes, One Way IPA and Leinenkugel Summer Shandy. Cans and bottles provide something for every other taste as does a full bar with shelves low and high. All-day happy hour specials for the foreseeable future are: Mondays, $4 domestic big beers and $3 Old Overholt shots; Tuesday, $7 domestic pictures and $3 Jager shots; Wednesdays, $2.50 Old Style tall boys and $3 Goldschlager shots; Thursdays, $2 Busch Light bottles and $3 Fireball shots; Fridays, $3 craft beers and $3 shots of McGillicuddy's; Saturdays, $2.50 Busch Light draws and $3 UV bombs; Sundays, $2 for all tall boys and $3 Goldschlager shots.I could walk out of most bars just as quick as I walk in and get the feel, but Nifty pulled me in and held me to its friendly bosom. Going back without ulterior motive is most definitely going to happen.

So we drove down a sketchy, one way, what appeared to be some kind of drainage ditch judging by the sloped sides, through a random used car dealership's parking lot up to this place. But don't worry; there was plenty of parking. Except in the "No Parking" zone, that was already taken by someone else.......Anyways, we walked in and everybody turned to look at us, as we kind of expected to happen. One of the obvious regulars did decide to ask "What we were doing here" and "Who we were". We told them we were here to drink beer and apparently that was a good enough answer for them. They have a shuffle board table in here....you know you're in a good old dive when there's shuffleboard. There is a pool table towards the back and the whole place has been redone in wood paneling, it looks very nice. Good selection of beers on tap, I was surprised, and they decided to be a part of of the 2015 Omaha Beer Week as well. The bartender looked confused when I asked him about the special and suddenly everyone else at the bar was curious about it as well. Overall Andy was a great bartender and there was a cool mix of old regulars who have been coming here for 30 years and new regulars who decide they are going to drink multiple Captain and Cokes at 1pm until who knows how late.....

Great little bar just enough outside of the main Benson strip but with same feel. I can always count on the bartenders to be fast and friendly- a little gem in the Benson neighborhood!

While visiting Omaha my buddy and I picked this place because the online reviews we read here and elsewhere talked about the rowdy crowd and mentioned that customers are constantly getting their cars towed. Admittedly we did have trouble figuring out how to get to their parking lot, but once we did it wasn't too hard at all to park legally. It was still daytime (mid afternoon) and the crowd inside seemed pretty mellow. We grabbed our beers and settled in to play Silver Strike. A little kid (about 6 years old) repeatedly asked us when we'd be done because he wanted to "play" (as in randomly push buttons and spin the trackball).People were eating, so the kitchen must be open on more than just Thursdays now.We didn't really have the experiences the other reviewers had, the regulars were all well-behaved and kept to themselves. But maybe they just hadn't had enough to drink yet.

Very nice bartenders affordable drinks love the friendly crowd it brings never any douches. Will be back soon!

Great dive! Friendly people. Spend every November 10th there for the Marine Corps birthday. Semper fi